What is sweet, and what is salty? This simple question can yield a wide variety of answers depending upon whom you ask. How you perceive sweet, sour, bitter, or salty depends upon both your genetics and other factors you have been exposed to. There are talented individuals that educate their palates to distinguish between numerous subtle tastes beyond just those for primary tastes we tend to use to describe what we eat. Can you imagine taking a bite of a risotto for example and being able to list each ingredient precisely simply through taste? Regardless of how intricate you can describe your taste sensations, it is something you’ve developed over the years. A child who has never tasted a lemon for example, may think that an orange tastes sour. Once that children awaken and expand their palates, they can better classify different food tastes.

So, why are we discussing taste palate ranges you may wonder? Today we are sharing a recipe for bonbons. Bonbons, a word of French origin, is defined by Webster’s dictionary as a candy with chocolate or fondant coating and fondant center that sometimes contains fruits and nuts. The expectation when you bite into a bonbon is one of sweetness. However, for a more educated palate, the desired experience just may include a nutty taste combined with some slight bitterness of cacao and a sweet undertone that gives your tongue an exuberant panoply of flavors. That experience sounds much more satisfying than simply splurging through a barrage of sugar. Therefore, our recipe will highlight the coconut, cacao and almonds versus the sugar. We suggest you re-define your senses s bit prior to indulging in this treat, perhaps by drinking a glass of water and/or eating a saltine cracker, just as professional taste testers often do as part of their preparational rituals. This will allow you to clear your mind from prior expectations and allow your brain to create new connections as you taste each flavor separately and then in symphony as they are so well combined in this bonbon.

Through practicing this sequence often, you will be slowly educating your taste palate to require less sugar to define something as “sweet.” If you haven’t deciphered the health benefits yet for this practice, here is it in plain words: You will eat less refined sugar and still enjoy what you eat!

Our recipe for Coconut Almond Bonbons uses maple syrup as a sweetener, but only 3 tablespoons. This moderation is what gives the other ingredients a chance to shine through individually. It is also a vegan and gluten-free recipe. You can easily substitute the Once Again Almond Butter with cashew, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter or even tahini, if you would like to experiment. Each one will give you a completely different bonbon. For a party or event, consider making a few with each different nut or seed butter and then using different sprinkled toppings to decorate them. When you make these, please share a picture your creations with us on social media and tag us @onceagainnutbutter. We love sharing your results with our community.

Coconut Almond Bonbons

¼ cup of Once Again Almond Butter

¼ cup of coconut flour

3 tablespoons of coconut oil

3 tablespoons of maple syrup

2 tablespoons of cacao powder

Mix Once Again Almond Butter and coconut flour, place it in molds, or roll it into small balls. Now mix coconut oil, syrup and cacao powder. Dip each one into chocolate mix, or pour mixture in molds. Place bonbons in the freezer for 45 minutes, allowing them to set. Remove bonbons from the freezer for 5 minutes before enjoying them. Store them in the freezer in an airtight container for up to one week.

Holiday meals often include some of our favorite dishes, but unfortunately we must restrain ourselves , having those only on special occasions. They are usually labor intensive, high in calories and challenging to fit into a regular day’s menu. Well, some exceptions needed to be made, and that was the case with sweet potato casserole. A traditional holiday recipe for sweet potatoes includes generous amounts of brown sugar, heavy cream, and almost always end with a pecan and marshmallow topping that makes this casserole more fitting of a dessert table than dinner!

Sweet potatoes are a better source of fiber than white potatoes, but what makes them a nutrient- rich tuber is their deep orange color. That characteristic color (at least here in North America, because a fun fact is that the more common variety of sweet potato in South America, for example, is purple!) is the source of sweet potatoes’ vitamin A content. This powerful antioxidant (carotenoids) has anti-aging properties, aids cancer prevention and helps protect good eyesight. Just one large sweet potato contains more than 100% of the daily recommended intake for Vitamin A according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They are high in vitamin B5, B6, thiamin, niacin and riboflavin. These are all good reasons for us to enjoy sweet potato casseroles all year round!

Let’s not allow the nutrients in sweet potatoes be overshadowed by the heaping amount of sugar that the holiday casserole recipes are famous for. Instead, by swapping brown sugar for Once Again Killer Bee Honey, you’ll need a lesser amount ls to sweeten the recipe and add the benefits of honey, such as its immune- boosting qualities. There is also no need to add heavy cream; instead, using a hand mixer or blender, the trick is to puree the sweet potatoes while still warm to achieve creaminess. You won’t miss the marshmallows when you top your casserole with pecans, cinnamon, and just a little brown sugar (optional).

Simple changes make this a casserole fit for any day! Add this recipe to your collection to serve with grilled salmon and a side of broccoli, for example. It also goes well with baked chicken and a spinach salad, there are just so many choices!

Everyday Sweet Potato Casserole

3 lbs. of sweet potatoes

1 large egg

1 teaspoon of salt

1/3 cup of Once Again Killer Bee Honey

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ginger

1/3 cup of chopped pecans

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon of brown sugar (optional)

Wash and peel potatoes, and then chop them into cubes and steam until soft. Place them in a bowl, and while still warm, puree, using a hand mixer or blender. You may add a couple of tablespoons of water if needed, but when pureed while still warm, you will most likely not need any additional water. Now add a beaten egg, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt and mix well. Place in bake- safe dish — 8×8 works well. The topping is the mixture of the pecans, sugar and brown sugar. Sprinkle on top of the sweet potato and bake, covered in foil, in a an oven preheated at 350F for about 45 minutes. Serve warm!